SHINING'S OUT IN ARMY TEST OF NEW BOOT

Special to the New York Times

Published: June 13, 1981

FORT BENNING, Ga., June 12—
Across this vast Army post, the swamps of Florida, the snows of Alaska and a small base in Maryland, soldiers are testing a new combat boot.

It is not the familiar black and glossy boot, but rather brown and fuzzy with a feel similar to suede.

To clean the new boots, soldiers just brush them off. No more spit shining.

Army designers say the new boots are supposed to be harder for infrared sensors to detect and that, with a coating of silicone, they are more resistant to water.

In the testing, which began nearly a month ago, 1,700 soldiers of various ranks and military occupations are wearing the new boots one day and their old ones the next. They are being asked to take notes and report their findings. The Test Is to 'Abuse Them'

There is no particular procedure in testing the boots. ''We just take them out and abuse them,'' said Capt. Tim Prouty, a University of Wisconsin engineering graduate who is in charge of the testing here.

Some soldiers say the new boots are hotter than what they have been used to. Others say they are more comfortable, have no breaking-in period and are easier to take care of. If the new boots fare well in the testing, the Army hopes to begin issuing them in 1983. At current dollar values, they will cost the Government about $45 a pair compared with $37 a pair for the old black ones.

So far, according to Captain Prouty, the Army has not formally designated a name for the new boot. ''We just call it the brown boot,'' he said.